BRUSSELS - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), with the support of the European Union (EU), is launching "Gaza: Stories of Hope and Resilience", a travelling art exhibition that brings the work of Gazan painter Ahmed Muhanna to European audiences for the first time. Opening in Brussels on 15 September, the exhibition will tour nine cities across Europe through October 2025.
Featuring over 40 original works brought from Gaza, the exhibition offers the artist's deeply personal perspective on the daily reality in Gaza. When art supplies ran out, Muhanna began painting on the cardboard boxes that WFP used to provide food aid to the people of Gaza since the first day of the conflict. Once carriers of vital and scarce food, these boxes now carry stories of survival, endurance and hope.
"I began drawing what I see and hear every day on these food boxes as a way to connect hope to pain. Food assistance provides hope for every family suffering from hunger," said Ahmed Muhanna. "I used them to document what we lived through during this war, from starvation to the struggle of getting food and water. This exhibition is one of my dreams come true: to carry our message beyond Gaza and for the world to look at these paintings and start to understand the suffering my people have endured."
"The numbers in Gaza are alarming: the number of people in need, the number of deaths, the number of families going for days without food. Behind every statistic are human beings, and these artworks give them a voice. The first time we saw the art painted on WFP boxes, we understood that the food aid we provide is more than just assistance, it has become a symbol of life," said Antoine Renard, WFP's Country Director for Palestine.
Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib highlighted the importance of this exhibition, which exemplifies both the tragedy of Gaza and strength of its inhabitants amidst unspeakable horrors: "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond intolerable - a hard reality depicted by artist Ahmed Muhanna on the parcels used for the delivery of humanitarian aid. From delivering food, these boxes are now delivering hope: this is the voice of ordinary Gazans, living and creating amidst the ruins. With EU funding, our partner, the World Food Programme, has provided a lifeline to the people of Gaza by delivering food. With this exhibition, it has provided another lifeline, by delivering their message to Europe."
The exhibition comes at a pivotal moment in the crisis. Famine has been confirmed in Gaza City, and is expected to spread across Gaza if conditions remain the same. Nearly two years of conflict and devastation have caused unimaginable suffering in Gaza, leaving the entire population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
With EU support, WFP continues to deliver food convoys into Gaza whenever access allows. Since October 2023, the EU has contributed €86 million to WFP operations, enabling thousands of trucks to bring life-saving food to civilians on the brink of starvation.
WFP and its partners stand ready to further scale up operations. But faster clearances to move trucks into and within Gaza are critical. It is also vital that WFP's robust distribution network inside Gaza be able to resume regular operations, so that civilians can safely access aid. Pushing back escalating starvation depends on safe, unfettered humanitarian access to reach the most vulnerable families.
